Defense of the Ancients Allstars

There are many people out there for whom the idea of more games like Defense of the Ancients (affectionately known as DotA) is very exciting, and so gamemaker Valve's announcement that it had acquired some of the developers of DotA so that they could do just that has been greeted optimistically.
However, Valve is planning on calling their Defense of the Ancients Allstars, and Riot Games, maker of the DotA inspired (something of an understatement) League of Legends, feels that the use of the name Defense of the Ancients should not be restricted. Steve Mescon of Riot Games told PCGamer:

The idea that one single company is taking control of the name of something that hundreds of people have contributed to is surprising. I believe DotA should always remain a community-owned product that modders, independent developers and game fans can continue to modify and play as often as they’d like. Guinsoo and I had hoped that the DotA name would live on in perpetuity as a community project that is both free to play and free to modify and expand.

What is DotA? If it's so popular, why isn't the name already trademarked? The answers are really quite interesting, and are rooted in unique aspects of the industry and culture of online PC gaming.
Read More